What should I offer?

CRU · 10-04-2004, 4:51 PM

A co-worker of mine has a 1996 Honda Magna 750 with about 37,000 on the odometer. He hardly rides it anymore and his wife is pestering him to sell it so that they can get a boat. The bike is very well maintained. He has always taken it in for the scheduled services and it still shines like it did the first day.

I've always wanted to have both a cruiser and a sportbike in the stable to suit my riding moods. So I have expressed interest in it. He keeps telling me to make him an offer. And I keep asking him to tell me what he wants for it. I checked the KBB price and they say its worth about $2600 trade-in. Though when checking on eBay, most of these are selling for far less with much lower mileage. So my question is how much should I offer him?

Anybody have any experience with these bikes? Will it die in a few years or will it run until the end of time. I know the V-fours in the VFR are famous for their longevity. Any comments?

Johnny Diablo · 10-04-2004, 5:10 PM

Offer the low end price you are finding on ebay.
Is this a case of you wanting to tackle it as it seems like a deal or you want it because you like this particular bike?

My sister has a late model yamaha 650 cruiser collecting dust but I have no desire to get it to ride myself..maybe to sell. Where is the demand for these bikes, not much I bet?

Maybe you can put the amount you want to pay in their hand and test it out for a week. After one week you may be willing to go up a little or you may just want your money back. Make sure you are insured of course!

literbike · 10-04-2004, 5:15 PM

Offer him around $2300 and see if he takes it. Id use KBB for prices instad of ebay, because ebay isnt a good way of judging how much a vehicle/anything is worth. My father had a 95 Magna, and liked it a lot although he sold it with 24k on the odo, so I don't know about 37. During the time that he did put 22k on it, however he had no problems. Good luck, the Magna is a sweet looking bike(considering its not a sportbike).

CRU · 10-04-2004, 5:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by literbike

Offer him around $2300 and see if he takes it. Id use KBB for prices instad of ebay, because ebay isnt a good way of judging how much a vehicle/anything is worth. My father had a 95 Magna, and liked it a lot although he sold it with 24k on the odo, so I don't know about 37. During the time that he did put 22k on it, however he had no problems. Good luck, the Magna is a sweet looking bike(considering its not a sportbike).

I'd say eBay is a fairly accurate way of determining a vehicles demand. If most similar models with much less mileage are selling for less than the KBB value, then the low demand will drive the price down. Just as high demand will drive the price of a 1994 RC45 much higher than the trade-in value of $9100.

I'm thinking of offering him $1500 for the bike. But I just wanted to gauge what most people would consider offering for such a bike.

Chrome Dome · 10-05-2004, 12:38 AM

My first bike was a 1985 Honda Magna 700. It was in excellent condition when I bought it in 1994 for $1450. It had 18K miles. I sold it two years later for $1750.

I've heard the V45 and V65 motors are notorious for cam chain problems but I never had any problem. The only maintenance I did:

Sync the carbs (which made a big difference)
Adjusted the valve clearances
Replaced the speedo cable (broke after about 3K miles)

I think the forks started leaking oil around the seals, but I can't remember. Nothing major wrong with the bike. VERY easy to work on

I'd offer him $1900 - $2200

EDIT: I misread your post... I thought it read "1986 Magna"

Oh well